Spike the dragon huffed as he entered the library, his eyes scanning the empty room.
"Twilight?" A second passed in silence before the unicorn called back.
"I'm upstairs!" She yelled, her voice drifting down from the bedroom. He smiled at the sound of her voice, his tiny feet scraping across the floor as he climbed the stairs. He shook his head as he heard her muttering to herself, his eyes rolling as he tuned out her rambling. His eyes narrowed as he entered the room, scratching just behind the spines on his head as he glanced around the empty room. He shrugged, crossing the room to the bathroom door. He pressed his ear against the door, listening intently for a moment.
"Twi?" He paused for a moment, before speaking. "They didn't have any quills at Quills and sofas."
"I'm right here Spike!" A voice huffed behind him, sending a chill down his spine. He jumped, his body whirling around as he rubbed his claws together nervously. He shuffled toward the door leading to the stairs, his eyes darting all over the room.
"Wh-where?" He asked, wincing as his voice shook, his tail twitching behind him.
A moment passed, his eyes wide as he inched ever closer to the staircase behind him.
"BOOOO!" A voice screamed, mere inches in front of him.
Spike shot into the air, his feet scrabbling for purchase on the wooden floor as he hit the ground, his tiny feet slapping at the stairs as he took them two at a time. He sprinted out the door, screaming incoherently the entire time.
"Ghost!! There's a ghost!!" He yelled, smoke escaping from his nose as he ran fearfully, making a beeline for the Carousel Boutique. He passed by Sugarcube corner in a blur, barely stopping to avoid Pinkie Pie as she burst out of the front doors of the local bakery.
“Hi Spike! Bye Spike!” She yelled, waving as the small dragon ran by her, his scaly feet slapping the cobblestones beneath him. Spike ran, his eyes narrowing as a pale green unicorn stepped out of a shop just in front of him. He ducked, the scales on his head scraping the underside of the mare’s belly.
“Hey!” The mare yelled, rearing up in shock.
“Sorry, Lyra!” Spike called back, hardly sparing the mare a second glance.
Soon enough the baby dragon was pounding on Rarity's door, ignoring the closed sign hanging in the window. He stood fearfully looking over his shoulder as he knocked, his eyes darting from side to side. He stared behind him, lost in his thoughts as Rarity pulled the door open, her greeting dying on her lips. She stared at him, her eyes darting to his tiny fist that continued to pound away at the space her leg now occupied.
Rarity cocked her brow at him, before pulling a hoof to her mouth and clearing her throat.
“Ahem. Spike?”
Spike whirled around, his arm freezing as he looked up at the beautiful mare before him. His cheeks pinkened as he stared at her, his tail curling up to touch his back as a wide smile spread across his face.
“Hi Rarity...” He said breathily, rising onto his tip toes as Rarity took a step back, beckoning him into her boutique.
“Hello Spike.” She said, giggling as she turned, the baby dragon following close on her heels. “Is there any reason you’ve decided to drop by so late and attempt to pound a hole in my door?”
Spike flinched, his eyes going wide as she reminded him of why he had ran this way in the first place.
“Rarity! Twilight’s been kidnapped by ghost!” He said, scraping at the scales on his head with his claws. Rarity froze, her shoulders going stiff as she shivered ever so slightly.
“Wha-what ever do you mean?” Rarity said, turning toward him with a disbelieving smile on her muzzle. She glanced at him skeptically, before flipping her mane over her shoulders.
“Twilight asked me to run to the Quills and Sofas shop to buy more quills...” He explained, gesturing with his hands. Rarity stared at him, her normal graceful composure fading the more he talked. Her eyes were wide open and darted from side to side, lingering on the door and windows as Spike wrapped up his tale.
“...so then, I used my fire breath to get them to back up so me and Twilight could escape, but they grabbed her and took her away! So I came here, just in case they came after you next!” He explained, puffing out his chest as he poked himself with a thumb. Rarity sat feet in front of him, shaking ever so slightly. She would never admit it to anypony, but Rarity was very scared of ghosts.
“Rarity?” Spike said, tapping the mare on the shoulder. Rarity shrieked, leaping a foot into the air, her hooves kicking at the air. “Are you okay?” He said, eyes wide as he put his hands on her cheeks, drawing her gaze to him.
She took a deep breath, forcing a smile on her face. “Of course I am. I’m... just worried about Twilight is all.” Spike nodded, releasing Rarity’s face as he turned back toward her front door.
“I’m gonna head back to try to make sure Twilight’s alright I guess...” He said, hesitating as he inched toward the door.
“No!” Rarity yelled, causing the young dragon to jump. “No... I mean... no. It’s much too late for you to have to walk back to the library! Yo-you should just stay here tonight, and we will both go and check on her first thing in the morning.”
Spike stared at her for a minute, visibly exhaling. “That... that sounds like a good idea Rarity.” He yawned suddenly, rubbing at his eye with a balled up fist. “Do you have a pillow I can use?” He waddled toward the couch, climbing onto the couch as he turned toward the mare.
“Ohhh no. If you are staying here, than you will sleep in my bed, and I will sleep on the couch tonight.” Rarity said after a moment, smiling at Spike.
“Wha- No! I’m not gonna force you to sleep on the couch tonight!”
“Well, I will not allow a guest to sleep on the couch either.” Rarity said, lowering her head challengingly. Spike glared at her, his arms crossed over his chest as he gave her his best defiant look.
Rarity buckled first. She dropped her gaze, biting on her lip as her eyes darted back toward the doors. “Well... you are still a baby dragon. Not much older than, Sweetie Belle... right?”
“Um... I guess?” He said, scratching at his chin.
“Well, Sweetie Belle still occasionally sleeps with me when she has a nightmare...” She trailed off as Spike’s cocked an eyebrow at her. “I mean you did go through a horrible ordeal tonight...” Silently, she begged Spike to agree with her and not to leave her alone that night.
“Well... If it’s okay with you...” Spike said, tapping his claws together.
Rarity smiled, giggling at the blush on Spike’s cheeks. “Come along Spikey Wikey.” She turned, her tail twitching behind her as she lowered herself beside him, gesturing for the baby dragon to climb up onto her back. She smiled at him as he put his claws on her shoulders, scratching at her white fur as she trotted toward the staircase. She turned, casting one last lingering gaze on her front door before her horn flared, putting all the lights in her main room out for the night.
Author's Note
A/N: First side story for my main series Spell to Happiness. If you haven't read that yet, go ahead and give it a read!
Spell to Happiness
